1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to data security and, more particularly, to providing secure data that is self-protecting.
2. Related Art
Secure data is desired or needed in many different fields of endeavor, especially with the increased availability and use of the Internet and electronic data storage. Financial or personal data, for example, can be especially sensitive and may require that only one or a very select few people can access the data. Companies invest large amounts of time, money, and resources into making sure sensitive data is secure. Data security may be useful both to the public (e.g., consumers) as well as to the government for compliance with regulations requiring certain levels of security for companies managing or using secure data. Examples of secure data include a person's date of birth, social security number, mother's maiden name, place of birth, financial institution account numbers, and account passwords. Means to secure data include, for example, investing in secure databases with secure firewall networks, installing management applications to determine when certain data expire or are to be archived, and encrypting data with keys.
Most, if not all, however, of current means for securing data require investment in the infrastructure needed to protect the data.